Local Catholic women attend national convention

ARLINGTON, Va. –More than 700 affiliate leaders, individual members, Catholic leaders, exhibitors and friends of the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW) met Nov. 9-12, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown to reinvigorate and expand their commitment to spirituality, leadership and service through inspired speakers, liturgical celebrations and thoughtful reflection on best practices for evangelization and social justice. The convention theme was “Campaign for Human Dignity—Love in Action.”

In her call to end the use of the death penalty, Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, tackled one of the most challenging aspects of building a culture of life: Advocating for the God-given dignity of innocents is easier than recognizing the God-given dignity of the convicted.

“We are all mystics seeking an encounter with the living God,” Sister Helen said in her keynote address during the opening session of the convention. She suggested that “each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” She asked attendees to consider the pain that families of victims endure when they are told that the death penalty is an avenue for justice and peace for them, yet they often have to wait five, 15 or more years for “justice.”

This keeps them locked in a cycle of pain. It also causes pain that the offenders’ families must endure waiting for a family member’s execution. In looking to the future, Sister Helen said, “Catholics are the leading moral wedge in the discourse that is going on about the death penalty. Fifty-nine percent of young people are against it.” She finds great hope in the fact that more and more families of victims are saying, “don’t kill in our name.” 

During its annual business meeting, NCCW members approved a resolution calling for the end of the use of the death penalty.  During the opening convention liturgy, Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago said that “if we know who Jesus is, we discover who we are. In meeting Jesus, our destiny becomes clarified.” 

Cardinal George commended members of NCCW “as women who know the Lord and know the dignity of every human made in God’s image.”

“Thank you for being witnesses to Jesus Christ in your hearts…and in society,” Cardinal George said.   

Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr., NCCW Episcopal Liaison, Bishop of Springfield Cape Girardeau and Father James G. Stembler of St. Gertrude in Kingsville, Texas were among the spiritual advisors concelebrating Mass. 

Addressing a packed audience during his session, Father John Cusick answered the question “Why go to church?” To raise our consciousness about who we are: the daughters and sons of the Most High. 

“We may be the only group in the country that believes that we are not our past. Who we were is not as important as who we can be….We cannot keep a significant promise more than seven days. We go to church every week to “re-up” the promise on a regular basis,” Father Cusick said.

The convention featured other workshops on topics of importance to Catholic women and the organizations they serve, including domestic violence, becoming a marriage-building parish, faith and media, end of life planning from a pro-life perspective, care for God’s creation, trends in religious beliefs of young adult Catholics, immigration and other topics.

At the NCCW annual business meeting, new officers were installed, including Judy Powers, from the Diocese of Palm Beach, as NCCW president, Rebecca Woodhull, Diocese of Springfield, as president-elect, Pamela Kennedy, Diocese of Oklahoma City, as secretary and ten new province directors. Their terms run two years.  Martha Orem of Alice, Texas was installed for a second two year term from the Province of Galveston-Houston.  

As representative and liaison for the Province of Galveston-Houston, Orem will serve on NCCW board of directors and provide a link between the national, diocesan and parish councils of Catholic women.